For several years, I have been sensing that we are entering a time of exposure. God is revealing the things that "truly are". It will become increasingly hard to hide ungodly attitudes, actions, and mindsets. A friend of mine told me recently that to her it seems like God is poking and prodding people until the "ugly" manifests. While initially it is frightening when confronted with our ugliness, the revelation of the sin allows for the healing power of God to transform us (if we allow it).
This past week, an increasingly familiar scenario occurred. For the past months there has been a great deal of hype about Todd Bentley and what was happening in Lakeland. Unfortunately we are discovering some "rot" in the life of Todd. Any time this kind of revelation surfaces, it creates a great deal of turmoil. Those who held Todd in too high regard are devastated. Those who for one reason or another disliked Todd feel vindicated. (Unfortunately neither attitude comes from the heart of God).
Several weeks ago, I woke up with the words "there is nothing hidden that shall not be revealed" in my spirit. I realized that these were the words of Jesus from Luke 12:
“Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.
Later in the morning as I was pondering what I heard earlier, I again heard the following phrase in my spirit: "fall on the rock". Once again I immediately recognized the words of Jesus from Luke 10:
Then He looked at them and said, “what then is this that is written: The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone’? Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”
The inescapable fact of exposure leads to the dilemma of a response to that which is being exposed. For those to whom the exposure leads to a brokenness, abundant life results. For those to whom exposure leads to an attempt to conceal that which God exposes, destruction results. If Todd Bentley embraces the exposure of the faults and falls on Jesus, he can expect healing and life. However, if he attempts to minimize the faults, destruction will find him.
In my own life, recently God exposed a deeper weakness. The exposure demolishes any kind of self-righteousness and any measure of self-goodness. Once again I am required to cry out to Jesus for His grace to face my ugliness. My awareness of my susceptibility to ungodly thought patterns and actions has deepened. On the other hand, my awareness of the goodness of God has deepened as well. As I throw myself on the Rock, as I am broken, I discover life.
In observing what is happening in the world around me I notice another phenomena. I see people who are experiencing God's exposure. Instead of embracing the work of God, they continue in the attempts to hide from the exposure. At best, they minimize the work of God by pointing to their "goodness". At worst, they resist the work of God by calling it the work of the enemy. Ultimately, the Rock will fall on them and they will be crushed by Him.
From personal experience, I can say that this time of exposure is a blessing. It allows me to be in a position to truly experience the redemptive power of God. While many will blame the enemy for Todd Bentley's faults, I believe this is not the work of the enemy. Rather, I believe that this is the work of God revealing what "really is" so that an opportunity for healing can manifest.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
The demonization of Jesus (and those who follow Him)
I was reading in John 8 today. Jesus is engaging with the Pharisees, causing them to face the reality of their godlessness. As the conversation progressed, they became increasing vicious in their attacks on Him. In the ongoing dialogue, there is a statement that reveals at least one contributing factor to their anger. Verse 30 sums up what was happening with the following words - As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.
I believe that the Pharisees were fully aware that their religious control over people was being threatened. For years, in spite of differing views, the religious sects of the day played by the same rules. They were more interested in protecting their systems and theology than they were about the restoration of people. As long as all the different groups played by the same set of rules, the religious equilibrium was stable.
However, the entrance of Jesus on the scene upset the status quo. His words and actions indicated that God cared more for people than for the established religious systems. He healed on the Sabbath. He interacted deeply with unclean sinners. He touched the untouchable. And now people were drawn to Him. His words and actions gave them hope. Furthermore, Jesus' words revealed the condition of the Pharisee's heart. Their self-god was being exposed.
As the exposure increased, so did the vicious nature of the attacks. The Pharisees implied that they were better than Him because they were not born in fornication. (As if Jesus could have done anything about the circumstances surounding His birth!) As their anger increased, they continued to attack Jesus. They accused Him of being a Samaritan, of being demon possessed.
Finally, their rage culminated in an effort to kill Him.
A hallmark of people following the self-god is this kind of demonization. The self-god operates behind a facade of godliness. When the presence of God exposes the hypocrisy, the one through whom the presence of God is manifest must be demonized. Demonization of the person justifies the feelings of superioirity and rage. Ultimately it opens the door for all kinds of ungodly actions toward people.
Jesus said that a servant is not greater than His master. Those who follow Him should expect the same kind of treatment from the modern protectors of the religious systems.
I believe that the Pharisees were fully aware that their religious control over people was being threatened. For years, in spite of differing views, the religious sects of the day played by the same rules. They were more interested in protecting their systems and theology than they were about the restoration of people. As long as all the different groups played by the same set of rules, the religious equilibrium was stable.
However, the entrance of Jesus on the scene upset the status quo. His words and actions indicated that God cared more for people than for the established religious systems. He healed on the Sabbath. He interacted deeply with unclean sinners. He touched the untouchable. And now people were drawn to Him. His words and actions gave them hope. Furthermore, Jesus' words revealed the condition of the Pharisee's heart. Their self-god was being exposed.
As the exposure increased, so did the vicious nature of the attacks. The Pharisees implied that they were better than Him because they were not born in fornication. (As if Jesus could have done anything about the circumstances surounding His birth!) As their anger increased, they continued to attack Jesus. They accused Him of being a Samaritan, of being demon possessed.
Finally, their rage culminated in an effort to kill Him.
A hallmark of people following the self-god is this kind of demonization. The self-god operates behind a facade of godliness. When the presence of God exposes the hypocrisy, the one through whom the presence of God is manifest must be demonized. Demonization of the person justifies the feelings of superioirity and rage. Ultimately it opens the door for all kinds of ungodly actions toward people.
Jesus said that a servant is not greater than His master. Those who follow Him should expect the same kind of treatment from the modern protectors of the religious systems.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
How Big is Your God?
Lately I’ve been thinking a good deal about our perception of God. More specifically, I’ve been thinking about the way we make God into our image (or perhaps make a god in our image). Now, none of us would ever admit to making God in our image. However, our perception about the greatness of God is usually limited to our own abilities. In other words we limit our picture of God to what we can or cannot do ourselves.
Let me illustrate – I frequent an Internet forum that has the stated purpose of seeing revival break out. However, instead of talking about revival, most posts deal with the dangers of deception. Posters obsess with who is deceived and who is okay in the church world. Continual warnings are posted about various deceptions.
Why the obsession with deception? I believe it has to do with people’s perspective of God. They do not believe that God is greater than any deception. Therefore, deception must be feared. They doubt God’s ability to reveal deception; therefore they must take matters in their own hands. They have to be very careful lest some deception from another person “gets on them”.
Somehow we inherently believe that world or deceptions are greater than the God in us. We are afraid that the “world” will taint us. If we really understood the nature of God, we would expect the God in us to “taint” the world. We would expect the God in us to expose deception. Light is greater than darkness, life is greater than death.
I have a friend who talked with her church leaders about a desire to penetrate society. She was quickly warned about the dangers of associating with the world. She was told that it takes a mature Christian to withstand the allure of the world. Huh? The God in my friend is the same God that dwells in mature Christians. God is able to keep her fully.
The problem with the advice my friend received was that it minimized God. I believe that subconsciously, her leaders had a small view of God. Their statements reveal that they hold to a view that the world is more powerful than God.
How big is your God? Is He capable of handling the things you face? Is He capable of getting you back on track if you get lost? Do you expect Him to affect those around you in a powerful way?
Let me illustrate – I frequent an Internet forum that has the stated purpose of seeing revival break out. However, instead of talking about revival, most posts deal with the dangers of deception. Posters obsess with who is deceived and who is okay in the church world. Continual warnings are posted about various deceptions.
Why the obsession with deception? I believe it has to do with people’s perspective of God. They do not believe that God is greater than any deception. Therefore, deception must be feared. They doubt God’s ability to reveal deception; therefore they must take matters in their own hands. They have to be very careful lest some deception from another person “gets on them”.
Somehow we inherently believe that world or deceptions are greater than the God in us. We are afraid that the “world” will taint us. If we really understood the nature of God, we would expect the God in us to “taint” the world. We would expect the God in us to expose deception. Light is greater than darkness, life is greater than death.
I have a friend who talked with her church leaders about a desire to penetrate society. She was quickly warned about the dangers of associating with the world. She was told that it takes a mature Christian to withstand the allure of the world. Huh? The God in my friend is the same God that dwells in mature Christians. God is able to keep her fully.
The problem with the advice my friend received was that it minimized God. I believe that subconsciously, her leaders had a small view of God. Their statements reveal that they hold to a view that the world is more powerful than God.
How big is your God? Is He capable of handling the things you face? Is He capable of getting you back on track if you get lost? Do you expect Him to affect those around you in a powerful way?
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